While no vaccinations are legally required for most travelers, unless arriving from a yellow fever-endemic country, certain vaccines are highly recommended.
Vaccionations
The yellow fever vaccine is mandatory in Tanzania ONLY for travelers coming from countries where the disease is present, and proof of vaccination may be required at entry. Recommended vaccines include hepatitis A and B, typhoid, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, rabies (for those planning extended stays or animal encounters), and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR). Many of them are however mandatory vaccines that travellers from Europe receive as children, so I strongly recommend to check first with your family doctor if you might already be immune to some of them.
Malaria
Malaria is a risk in many parts of Tanzania, however not everywhere. Travelers could consider taking the antimalarial medication, but the MOST IMPORTANT prevention is to use insect repellents, mosquito nets, and protective clothing. Befor you decide to take Malrone (antimalarial pills) make sure to read about side effects – short and long term. You can do that here for instance: Malarone side effects
Don’t be scared, read about the area where you are traveling, get advise from people living there and with seriousness regarding the repelent and the mosquito net there is no reason not to have a great & healthy holiday in Tanzania.
Important note: if you start to feel weak, feverish or sore, in every medical institution (from a small dispensary to a hospital) and every pharmacy you can purchase a rapid malaria test – just to be safe. Every health center has also very efficient malaria treatments and doctors are very knowledgeable about it!
Depends to which region do you travel
Contrary to the stereotypical believes, NOT all Africa is malaria and typhoid infested. Same as not every region in Tanzania represents the same risks. For instance, a trip to the Usambara mountains carry no risk of malaria, the tap water is drinkable, the climate is colder and more moderate therefor healthier in general.
As malaria is a disease transmitted from a human to human, via the mosquto, in the national parks where there is no human habiation the risk of getting malaria is also extreamly low. There is less than 1% chance of getting malaria even without prevention in Zanzibar. On the island, men are the most affected by the disease, with many motorcycle taxi riders (bodaboda) contracting malaria due to their outdoor work environment, especially during the night. If you’re only staying in the hotel zone – the risk is almost NULL.
If you need more information about your trip to Tanzania
